The Police in Gauteng have noted with concern a video and article circulating on social media purporting that an elderly woman was arrested after she purchased groceries using fake bank notes at a Shoprite store in Rietgat policing precinct, at an area commonly known as Jukulyn.
The Police in Rietgat Police Station conducted an investigation in order to ascertain the validity of the allegations.
The Police would like to repudiate those allegations. The police visited a local Shoprite store and spoke to the Manager who denied claims that their store caught anyone paying with fake money. There is also no such case registered at Rietgat and the neighbouring Police Stations.
It is disheartening that irresponsible social media users would deliberately post misinformation about an area while others share carelessly without verifying whether or not the story is accurate.
The sharing of misinformation puts the South African Police Service at a disadvantage because all the allegations of crime have to be investigated. This leads to the Police utilising State resources and losing valuable time that could have been better utilised to investigate real incidents. Eventually that also disadvantages victims of crime and hampers service delivery.
